Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned his nuclear forces were “always” on alert and added that Moscow would not tolerate any Western threats, during an address on the annual Victory Day parade.
In a defiant speech on Red Square before thousands of soldiers dressed in ceremonial attire, Putin heaped praise on his army fighting in Ukraine and accused “Western elites” of fomenting conflicts around the world.
“Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash, but at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always on alert,” Putin told the crowd.
Putin has used nuclear rhetoric throughout the conflict in Ukraine, but has grown increasingly belligerent since last year, pulling out of a nuclear test ban treaty and a key arms reduction agreement with the United States.
Earlier this week, he ordered the Russian military to hold nuclear drills involving the navy and troops based near Ukraine, raising fears he could use the powerful weapons on the battlefield.
In comments recorded on Tuesday but released by the Kremlin after the parade, Putin vowed to modernize his army’s weaponry and said Russia would use whatever foreign parts it could get to make them.
“Modern military technology is changing very fast. If we want to be successful, we always have to be one step ahead,” he said in a meeting with army commanders.
Security in the capital was tight ahead of this year’s parade, amid repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory and after an Islamic State attack on a concert hall near the capital in March killed dozens.
Other parts of Russia including the western Kursk and Pskov regions cancelled their parades due to security concerns.
The parade featured columns of Russian military equipment, although was notably scaled back compared to past years as Moscow mobilizes its resources for the Ukraine front.
Russia often invites representatives from countries it deems “friendly” to the event, though attendance had dwindled even before it sent troops into Ukraine in early 2022 amid a stand-off with the West.
Nine world leaders attended Thursday’s parade — the heads of ex-Soviet republics Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — as well as the leaders of Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau.
With AFP
